Dark Destiny
by Shadowblade217
Summary: After discovering that a legendary vampire is searching for an artifact that could grant him absolute power, Damon, Elena, and the rest of the gang from Mystic Falls travel to Beacon Hills, California, in an attempt to find it first. However, they soon realize that Beacon Hills is experiencing its own supernatural problems. Set during Season 3 of TVD and Season 3A of TW.
1. Kronos's Gift

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_ or _Teen Wolf_.**

_**Dark Destiny**_

**Prologue - Kronos's Gift  
**

.

_It was called the Amulet of Kronos._

_It was a legendary artifact, created thousands of years ago. A necklace, made from pure gold, each link in its chain filled by a glittering jewel. Sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, precious stones of countless variety, culminating in a massive, blood-red ruby, as big as a man's fist._

_It was crafted in ancient Greece, said to have been forged by the gods themselves. Its legend stated that the one who wore it would be invincible. No force on the earth could destroy this being; they could not be killed, could not be harmed, could not be defeated, as long as they wore the amulet. And the power the Amulet would give them was beyond any parallel. They could not be defeated in battle, as long as the amulet was around their neck._

_But thousands of years ago, the Amulet was lost. It disappeared, taken by a coven of powerful witches who wished to prevent the amulet's power from tearing the world of humans apart with a war worse than any other. The witches cast a spell on the Amulet, to conceal it from human eyes unless someone was wearing it. And then they concealed it, hiding it from anyone who might misuse it._

_The world turned on. Empires rose and fell, and the Amulet of Kronos became nothing more than a myth, a legend. It was only remembered by those who delved deeply enough into ancient cultures to uncover stories of its power, and of the myth that one day, it would be worn again._

_The descendants of the witches who had first hidden the Amulet kept it safely hidden through the centuries. But eventually, a force of insidious evil, brilliant and twisted, rose up to seek the Amulet, craving its power._

_The latest generation of witches, who had taken up residence in the newly formed nation of America, fought and died bravely to defend it. But two of them, young girls, escaped, taking the Amulet with them. They split up, fleeing to opposite sides of the continent. One of them entered the service of a vampire who had once been known as Katerina Petrova, hiding in plain sight to escape her vengeful hunter. She saved many lives, two of which would have a dramatic effect on events a hundred and forty-five years later. However, she was abandoned by the vampire she served, and was executed by short-sighted humans. But, at the very least, she did not suffer the wrath of the evil that had pursued the remnants of her family for her entire life._

_The other sister, who had taken the Amulet with her when she'd fled, was not so fortunate._

.

_California_

_1864  
_

It was night. The moon hung in the sky overhead; its cold silver light, however, was nothing in comparison with the hellish red blaze of the fire that was currently raging through the forest. The light illuminated the forms of burning wooden buildings, flames leaping from windows and doors like grasping hands. Thick smoke billowed from the fires, hanging overhead.

Yesterday, this had been a thriving mining town, inhabited by hundreds of humans. Now, it was a hellish inferno, and the corpses of the town's inhabitants lay scattered amongst the ruins.

Only two figures remained, in the center of the ruined, burning village. One, a young woman in her mid-twenties, lay sprawled on the ground, covered in blood. Her right ankle was injured, and could barely support her weight. Terror filled her eyes as she gazed upon her nemesis.

The other was a tall man. Physically, he was about her age, in his early to mid-twenties. But his eyes blazed with a light almost as terrifying as the flames. Black veins pulsed under his eyes, and his canine teeth were extended into fangs.

As the woman tried to crawl away, he stepped forward, smiling predatorily. "Ah, ah, ah. No getting away, my darling." He casually slammed one foot down on her left leg, snapping the bone like a dry twig. Her agonized scream rang out over the crackle of the flames.

The vampire smiled. "That's better." Stepping forward, he grasped the woman by her throat and lifted her effortlessly into the air with one hand. She hung in the air, feet kicking helplessly.

The vampire leaned in closer, pulling her to him. "Now, my dearest Elizabeth, I believe I asked you a question." He smirked, showing his fangs, and his pupils expanded. "_Where is Emily?_"

The woman, Elizabeth, gazed helplessly into his eyes, unable to look away from her murderer's face, the face that had haunted her nightmares for most of her life. Still, however, she was able to find the strength to remain defiant. She glared venomously at him and hissed, "I... have... vervain in my system... you can't... compel me."

The vampire frowned. "Hmmm. Well, that's inconvenient. Oh, well... I'll just have to get my answers the old fashioned way." With that, he grabbed her right forearm in his left hand, and with a casual twist of his hand, he snapped both bones in her forearm. She screamed in pain, but the sound was choked off by his right hand still gripping her throat.

The vampire smirked, looking calmly into her eyes. "Trust me, Elizabeth, I can do this all day," he said conversationally. "Your only way of getting a quick, merciful death is to tell me what I need to know. Where. Is. _Emily?_"

"Go to hell," she spat from between clenched teeth.

He promptly clenched his grip on her broken arm, further crushing the bones in that arm and grinding her bones together in his fist. He imagined that was incredibly painful.

Elizabeth let out another scream, but still remained strong, glaring back at him. She would die before she would allow the Amulet to fall into the hands of this twisted madman.

As if hearing her thoughts, the vampire chuckled. "Oh, I will have the Amulet, my dear girl. The only question is, how many bodies will I have to walk over to get it?" He flashed a predatory smile. "Your sister's, perhaps?"

Elizabeth's face contorted in a mixture of hatred and agony, but before she could do anything he yanked his left hand casually, dislocating her right arm with a sickening crunch. She screamed again, thrashing in his grip, but to no avail. He smiled again, shrugging, and released his grip on the broken arm while still holding her throat with his right hand.

"Well, obviously you don't have it, since I've searched the entire settlement and now you as well... but that means sweet Emily must have it. Which means, after I kill you, I can find her and torture the location out of her." Another cruel smile crossed his face. "Oh, we're going to have _so_ much fun when I find her. And then, once she hands it over to me, I'll finally have what I've always wanted. Perfection. To be a god, and to remake the world in my own image." He refocused on her, smiling almost gently. "Of course, you won't be around to see that."

Somehow, Elizabeth managed to speak, fighting off the pain. "Emily... doesn't... have the Amulet. She didn't... take it when we split up... I did."

The vampire smiled and leaned in closer. "Really? Then where exactly is it?"

She smiled weakly, but there was triumph in her eyes. "I've... hidden... it. Somewhere you'll never... never find it. It's sealed away. A spell. Powerful... spell. Sealed away... for all eternity."

The vampire's eyes widened in shock, and he glared venomously at her. "_What?!_ What have you done, you insolent witch?!"

"It's... gone," she spat. "Gone forever."

His mouth worked for a moment in silent disbelief, and then his left hand clenched tightly into a fist. Instantly, he uncurled his fist, keeping all of his fingers pointed and held together in a classic knife-hand position... and then he shot his left hand forward and up, driving his hand into her abdomen. A strangled gasp of pain burst from Elizabeth's mouth as she looked down, to see his hand buried up to the wrist in her stomach.

The vampire's hand clenched around something, and a sadistic smile crossed his face. "So, you have a spine after all, witch. I was beginning to think you lacked one. Ah, well." With a casual twist of his fingers and a muffled crack, her legs suddenly went limp, her kicking ceasing completely. She was paralyzed from the waist down. With a yank, the vampire pulled his hand from her gut, his hand now covered in her blood from the wrist down.

The vampire glared coldly into her eyes, his own eyes smoldering with rage. "I will have that amulet, Elizabeth. If it takes me another ten thousand years, I will find it and break that spell you've placed to protect it. And once I wear it, I will be invincible. The greatest being the universe has ever known." He smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, you won't be alive to witness it. Goodbye, Elizabeth." With a sigh, he reached up, cupped her cheek with his left hand, and then shoved his hand sideways so quickly and violently that it twisted her head almost completely around, snapping her neck and killing her instantly.

The vampire released his grip on her throat, allowing the lifeless body of Elizabeth Bennett to collapse to the ground. He turned and began walking away, Elizabeth's blood still covering his hands.

_Someday_, he promised himself. _Someday soon, I will find the Amulet of Kronos. I will wear it, and I will become the most powerful being in existence._

_It is my destiny, after all._

**AN: Hello, everyone, and welcome to my new story, _Dark Destiny_! This story is a crossover between _The Vampire Diaries_ and _Teen Wolf_; it takes place during Season 3 of _The Vampire Diaries_, after Episode 3x09, _Homecoming_, and at the beginning of Season 3A of _Teen Wolf_. I hope all of you will enjoy it!**

**I tremendously appreciate reviews, so if anyone has any questions or comments about this story, please review! (No hate, please).**

**See you all next time!**


	2. Symbolic Omen

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_ or _Teen Wolf_.**

**Chapter 1 – Symbolic Omen**

.

_Mystic Falls, Virginia_

_2012_

Alaric Saltzman sat behind his desk, grading papers. His keen eyes scanned each page, analyzing every detail, before moving on to the next one.

It had been several days since the confrontation at Mystic Falls' Homecoming dance. Their plan had failed; Klaus Mikaelson, the evil vampire/werewolf hybrid who was menacing Mystic Falls, had survived the attempt they had made on his life. Klaus's father, Mikael, was dead, and their only hope of killing Klaus had died with him. But Stefan Salvatore, newly freed of Klaus's compulsion, had struck back at the diabolical Original, stealing the coffins containing his remaining family members and hiding them from Klaus. Now Stefan and Klaus were locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with the rest of Mystic Falls caught in the crossfire.

Alaric sighed, leaning back in his desk and rubbing his eyes wearily. He'd been working overtime ever since the death of Tobias Fell, the head of the school's history department, and the long hours were starting to get to him. He'd been spending much more time than he liked at the school, and the constant work had him exhausted.

Suddenly, a loud buzz drew Alaric's attention to his cell phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen. Not recognizing the number, he answered and placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Alaric? This is Sheriff Forbes."

Alaric sat up straighter, his demeanor changing. "Oh, hey, Sheriff. What's up?"

"Can you come out to the woods off Highway 41? We have a situation."

"Absolutely," Alaric replied, getting to his feet. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

As Alaric gathered his things and hurried out of the room, he felt a tingle of foreboding running down his spine.

_Something's wrong._

.

Alaric pulled up to where several police cars were parked on Highway 41 and hopped out of the car. Sheriff Forbes waved to him, recognizing his face. "Alaric! Over here!"

Alaric nodded, shaking hands with her. "Sheriff. What's going on?"

Sheriff Forbes shrugged, an uncomfortable expression on her face. "Actually, I was hoping you could tell me."

Alaric followed her through the trees, passing several deputies from the sheriff's department patrolling the area.

"A couple of hikers called it in," the Sheriff explained as Alaric followed her. "Officially, we're saying it was arson. Unofficially, however…" She led him through the trees and out into an open field. "Unofficially, I don't know what to call it."

Alaric stared, wide-eyed, at the sight in front of him. The field had obviously been filled with green grass initially. Now, however, a large portion of it was covered with large, bizarre patches of burned earth, etched into bizarre spirals and patterns.

"What the hell is this?" Alaric whispered.

"We couldn't make heads or tails of it at first, so I came up with an idea." Sheriff Forbes pointed towards a spot on the other side of the field, where a large crane with a box and seat at the top of the arm – a cherry-picker – was parked. "We drove that up a fire road on the other side of those trees and parked it here, then sent a man up with a camera so we could get pictures of the entire field. What we found…" She took a photo out of her pocket and held it up for Alaric. "Was this."

Alaric took the photo and inspected it, his eyes widening. There was, without a doubt, a recognizable pattern to the marks. Several of them, in fact.

Etched into the field was what, at first, appeared to be a meaningless pattern of complex lines. But to Alaric, an expert on noticing small details in confusing patterns, it resolved into multiple intertwined symbols. Many smaller symbols filled every piece of empty space, but the clearing was dominated by four huge symbols. The largest, running the entire circumference of the field in a circle, was a marking that looked like a stylized snake, coiled into a circle with its mouth clamped onto the tip of its own tail, as if it were biting itself. Within the circle created by the snake's body was a large spiral that linked to the snake at its outermost point. Superimposed on the spiral was a symbol that looked like three smaller spirals radiating from a central point, the origin of the spiral. And imposed over that symbol was a fourth; a marking that looked like a cross between an eye and a stylized letter R.

"What is this?" Alaric asked softly.

Sheriff Forbes looked over at him, her face nervous. "I don't know. Any ideas?"

An idea occurred to Alaric. "No." He turned to face the Sheriff. "But I might know someone who can figure it out."

.

"So you're telling me that someone burned a giant symbol into a field?" Damon Salvatore glanced over to where Alaric was seated in an armchair, a vaguely bored expression on his face. "And I should care about this… why, exactly?"

Alaric sighed. "Because I think it's supernatural."

"Why is that?" Caroline Forbes asked from where she was sitting in an armchair across from Alaric. She was studiously ignoring Tyler Lockwood, who was sitting in another chair nearby.

Alaric had called Damon immediately after the sheriff had shown him the burned symbols in the field. He'd agreed to meet with Damon and Caroline at the Salvatore boarding house to discuss the situation. Stefan and Tyler had both invited themselves; there really wasn't any way to keep them out of the loop, so Alaric had grudgingly agreed to explain what he'd found for all four of them.

"Look, all of these symbols are linked to various ancient cultures, which means that someone is trying to use them for something. I don't know if it's some kind of message, or a warning, or something else, but we need to find out what they mean."

Stefan Salvatore, seated beside Damon on the couch, considered for a moment before responding. "Look, Rick… are you sure it means anything? It could just as easily be nothing. Some idiot playing a practical joke."

"Not likely," Alaric said. "Because no one would know how to draw most of these symbols. The small ones are all symbols that I've seen in Bonnie's grimoire; symbols that witches use in their spells, to generate power. But the unique ones are these four." He indicated each one as he spoke. "I went over each of them, and I was able to identify three of them." He indicated the outermost symbol, the snake. "The first one is called an ouroboros. It's an ancient symbolic image, with Celtic roots; a snake biting its own tail, the symbol of eternity."

"Eternity?" Caroline asked. "Meaning… immortality? Like a vampire?"

Alaric glanced back at her. "Yeah, probably." He looked back to the picture. "I don't understand this one. It's a spiral, obviously, but I don't understand what it means."

Tyler turned, focusing on Alaric. "A spiral?" he asked, his voice suddenly interested. "Here, let me see." He walked forward, extending his hand. Alaric reluctantly handed it to him.

Tyler held the picture for a long moment, tracing the spiral with his fingers. He looked back up a moment later with a surprised look on his face. "I recognize this."

"Really?" Caroline turned to face Tyler for the first time since he'd showed up. "You've seen it before?"

"Yeah, Jules showed it to me once. It's a werewolf symbol; she said it can mean two different things, depending on the circumstances. If it's created over a werewolf's grave, it's a symbol of showing respect, honoring the fallen pack member."

"Well, since a werewolf wasn't buried under this one, what does the other version mean?" Damon asked impatiently.

Tyler looked over at Damon. "The other version is the symbol for revenge. A vendetta."

There was a brief silence while everyone considered that. Then Alaric continued, taking the picture back from Tyler. "Uh… so, anyway, the third symbol is Celtic in origin. It's called a triskele." He indicated the third symbol, the three spirals radiating outwards from a central point. "It's often used to symbolize things that come in threes. Not sure how that fits with the others, but I'm trying to figure it out."

"And the fourth one?" Stefan asked.

Alaric looked back down at the picture. "That one was actually the easiest to identify. It's an Egyptian symbol; the Eye of Horus, the symbol of the Egyptian war god Horus. It's supposed to symbolize the ability to see anything; Horus was said to be able to see things that were hidden to anyone else's eyes." He looked back to Stefan. "Basically, the definition of omniscience. You couldn't hide anything from someone who possessed the vision of Horus."

"So what does this mean?" Damon asked skeptically. "Why would someone burn all of these symbols into a field?"

"No idea," Alaric replied. "But whoever did it knew what they were doing; the precision's incredible. Look." He held out the picture to Damon, who took it and glanced at it casually… then froze and held it up, looking closer as the disbelieving look on his face transformed into an expression of total shock.

Stefan leaned forward, glancing at his brother curiously. "Damon? Something wrong?"

Damon handed the picture to Stefan. "Look."

Stefan looked at the picture for a long moment, then set it down, his face now wearing the same expression as Damon's. "This is bad."

"Yep," Damon agreed.

"Guys? What's wrong?" Alaric asked.

Stefan turned, looking around the room. "We have a new problem."

Damon nodded. "A _big_ one."


	3. A Vampire's Worst Nightmare

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_ or _Teen Wolf_.**

**Chapter 2 – A Vampire's Worst Nightmare**

.

Alaric looked incredulously at Stefan and Damon. "You recognize these symbols?"

Stefan nodded. "Individually, the way you described it, I didn't recognize them. But when I saw the picture…" He looked up at Alaric, his face haunted. "I know this mark."

"So do I." Damon looked over at his brother, an identical expression on his face. "I haven't seen it in about fifty years, but I'd recognize that anywhere."

Caroline looked between the two Salvatore brothers, confused. "Uh, guys? What are you talking about?"

Stefan glanced to her. "We've seen this symbol before. Several times, actually."

"Where?" Alaric asked.

Damon stood and walked over to one of the expansive bookshelves that lined the room. "Let's see… it should be in here somewhere… ah, there you are!" He pulled an old, leather-bound book off the shelf and held it up with a flourish. "I was wondering where this thing got to."

Stefan smiled faintly. "I haven't read that book in about thirty years."

"And yet we still remember it like it was yesterday," Damon mused as he sat down, flipping through the book until he arrived at the page he'd been looking for. "Here we go…" He lifted the book, turning it around and displaying it to everyone in the room.

Emblazoned on the page, was an image of the symbol that had been burned into the field. It was different in some ways – for example, the smaller symbols used in witches' spells were absent from this image – but the four main markings were still there, as if stacked on top of each other: the snake biting its own tail, the spiral, the triskele, and the Eye of Horus.

Stefan smiled faintly. "Ouroboros, spiral, triskele, Eye of Horus. The ouroboros symbolizes eternity, referring to a vampire's immortality."

"The spiral, as Tyler mentioned," Damon continued, "is the symbol for revenge; that means that a vampire's vendetta will last forever."

"Seems reasonable," Tyler said softly.

Nodding, Stefan spoke up again. "The triskele, in this case, refers to the fact that a vampire's life consists of three parts: human, transition, vampire."

"Finally," Damon said, "the Eye of Horus, which, as Rick said, stands for limitless knowledge, omniscience. The ability to see everything, know everything."

"So… immortality, a vendetta, the three parts of a vampire's life cycle, and limitless knowledge?" Tyler looked questioningly at Damon. "That's an unusual combination."

"Exactly." Damon's eyes narrowed. "And the combined symbol is very rare. Only one person would use this symbol as a calling card; the guy who created it." He turned to Alaric. "And he's supposed to be dead."

"Who?" Caroline asked.

"A vampire," Stefan answered. "A very powerful one. He's legendary among vampires." He leaned forward, his expression serious. "You know how humans sometimes tell stories about vampires to their children? Well, vampires tell the same kinds of stories about him. He's a living nightmare. Or, he was, before he died." A grim smile crossed his face. "At least, everyone _thinks_ he died."

"Who was he?" Tyler asked. "What was his name?"

A shadow seemed to pass over the faces of both Salvatores.

"Blackwood," Damon said quietly. "Jonathan Blackwood."

.

"So, this guy Blackwood… he's like the Boogeyman of vampires?" Jeremy Gilbert asked.

The group had arranged a meeting in the Gilbert house to discuss the situation after Damon and Stefan had identified the symbol, Damon reasoning that Klaus couldn't enter Elena's house, so this was the best place to have a discussion where he couldn't get in. Elena, Jeremy, Bonnie Bennett and Matt Donovan had joined Alaric, Stefan, Damon and Tyler, and the group was now sitting around the living room.

"Basically, yeah, that's exactly what he is," Stefan replied. "Jonathan Blackwood is one of the most terrifying figures in the history of the vampire species. He's a vampire's worst nightmare. The only person who has a more fearful reputation than Blackwood is Klaus, and even then it's not by much."

"But Blackwood's not an Original?" Elena asked.

Damon shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It never said anything like that in the stories."

"Wait, how do you two even know about him?" Jeremy asked.

"Lexi told us about him," Stefan replied. "Where did you think we got that book from?" He indicated the book in Damon's hands. "She gave it to us as a gift, over a century ago. It tells the story of Jonathan Blackwood, from the earliest records of him to the supposed end of his life."

"So… why is this guy so terrifying?" Elena inquired. "What did he do that gave him that reputation?"

Damon and Stefan exchanged glances. Then Stefan looked back to Elena. "You've seen some of the Originals: Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Mikael. They all had basic similarities; they were like most other vampires. Petty, vengeful, cunning, but still ruled by emotional impulses; duty, family, honor, anger, even love. But Blackwood was different. It wasn't that he switched off his humanity; in fact, according to rumors, he didn't switch it off. He had his humanity, he could feel emotions... and yet he chose to do things worse than anything you've seen, worse than anything you could imagine, without the slightest bit of remorse."

"Blackwood was a genius," Damon interrupted. "Brilliant, but also twisted and evil. All he cared about was power, and he would do whatever was necessary to get it. He had no attachments, no one who could be used against him, and he would kill whoever got in his way without any hesitation."

"But the reason Blackwood became so widely known – and feared – was because of an event that has become infamous among our kind over the centuries," Stefan continued. "A chapter of our history that will always be remembered. Even though there aren't many witnesses left to remember what it was like."

Stefan glanced around the room, looking at each of them in turn. "Imagine a map of North America, with every human represented as a tiny red dot. The more densely populated an area is, the more red dots there are. Now, vampires – those of us who feed on live humans – prefer to live in more densely populated areas, areas with higher concentrations of red. The denser the red, the easier it is for vampires to hunt and feed without revealing our presence."

"Okay, got it… but how does that link to Blackwood?" Tyler asked.

"Relax," Stefan said calmly. "I'm getting there. Now, it occurred to some vampires, mostly in the southern part of North America, that if they were the only vampires in, say, Dallas, then they could feed as often as they wanted, as long as they were subtle, and remain completely undetected. They started trying to come up with ways to get rid of the competition. As a result, it's been constant war there for centuries. Constantly planning, fighting, and scheming, without a single break. Never stopping, never resting, for hundreds of years. That had already been going on for centuries before the story begins. But that was just the warm-up act. The _real_ fight hadn't even begun."

"The _real_ fight?" Caroline's eyes widened. "It got _worse?_"

Stefan gazed evenly back at her. "Yeah. A lot worse."

"The war changed about two hundred years ago, in the early 1800s," Damon explained. "The guy who initiated it was a fairly young vampire named Benito. He started in the city of Tijuana, just over the border between the United States and Mexico, and worked from there. Now, vampires are usually solitary or live in pairs, except in places like Mystic Falls where larger groups of them will sometimes gather together through a common purpose, or a mutual bond. If the vampires involved in the alliance are close enough, it becomes known as a coven. Benito wasn't part of a coven, though. He was a newcomer, supposedly a loner, independent of the other vampires in the city. But he made himself known in dramatic style. Overnight, he wiped out the two covens of vampires that had claimed Tijuana and had been fighting over it. Not a single member of either coven survived. Two weeks later, he took on a much stronger clan of allies that had claimed the nearby city of Mexicali. Again, he won, and the entire coven was slaughtered."

"But if he wasn't part of a coven, how did he do it?" Alaric asked. "Without backup, how could he possibly have won?"

"Simple; he did have backup. Lots of it." Damon smirked, and Alaric felt an ominous chill.

Damon turned back to face the group. "Benito had created a whole crowd of newborn vampires. He'd turned as many humans as he could shortly before he took on the covens. Against that, the other covens didn't stand a chance."

"Wait," Caroline said, puzzled. "I thought the older a vampire is, the stronger they are. So shouldn't a bunch of young vampires have been useless against covens of older ones?"

"It wasn't the relative strengths that won the battle," Stefan replied. "It was the _numbers._ Most covens in that war didn't have more than a dozen vampires each. Benito had at least thirty newborns with him when he attacked. His enemies were outnumbered almost three to one; their individual strength wasn't an issue."

Alaric sighed. "An army."

"An army of vampires?" Elena whispered. She shivered subconsciously, imagining that sight.

Damon nodded. "The vampires in southern Mexico realized what was coming for them, and they did the only thing they could think of to counteract Benito, to protect themselves." He locked eyes with each of them in turn, turning his head slowly. "They made armies of their own."

A chill of horror ran down Elena's spine.

"All hell broke loose," Stefan said. "More literally than any of you can imagine. Vampires have their histories too, and that particular war is one that none of us will forget."

A smirk flickered across Damon's face. "Of course, it wasn't a particularly good time to be human in Mexico either."

Elena and Caroline shuddered.

"When the body count reached epidemic proportions – in fact, your histories blame a plague for the population decrease – someone finally stepped in." Stefan sighed. "No one knows who exactly it was, but the story calls them the Punishers. They sought out every newborn in the southern half of North America. Benito was already entrenched in Guadalajara, building his numbers as quickly as he could so he could turn his attention to the ultimate prize – Mexico City. The Punishers started with him, and moved on to the rest."

"They killed everyone who was caught with newborns," Damon said, "and since everyone was trying to protect themselves from Benito, Mexico was emptied of vampires for a time. It took decades for vampires to return to Mexico in any sufficient number."

"Lexi told us that she'd known someone who was there when they visited Monterrey, in northern Mexico." Damon closed his eyes for a moment. "It was a bloodbath. Every vampire in the city was butchered. No survivors, except for those loners who escaped before it started."

"Wait…" Alaric thought for a moment. "There's no vampire police force, so obviously these Punishers were vampire hunters. But they were able to massacre every vampire in Mexico, which means they couldn't have been ordinary hunters like me. Which means it must have been…" His voice trailed off.

"Mikael," Stefan murmured in realization. "That actually makes sense. He was the only one who cared about dealing with out-of-control vampires enough to do something like that."

"Most likely," Alaric replied.

"Okay, so that's the story." Tyler glanced over at Damon again. "So what does any of this have to do with this Blackwood guy?"

Damon smiled. "Only this; the strategy of using newborns wasn't Benito's idea. It was suggested to him by his only friend; another vampire, a man named… Jonathan Blackwood."

Alaric's eyes widened. "So Blackwood caused the entire war?"

"Without even trying," Damon said. "Just a whisper in an ear… and then Blackwood sat back and watched half of North America's vampire population tear each other apart. Literally."

"_That's_ what makes him so terrifying," Stefan continued. "He did all that, inflicted total devastation, unleashed hell on earth, without lifting a finger to fight. He was a master of manipulation; supposedly, his powers of compulsion were worse than anyone's, even the Originals. But very little was known about him. It was said that he could appear out of nowhere, that he could project his words through others, even other vampires. He could be anywhere, at any time, and you'd never see him coming. If he wanted you dead, you were dead. And we know next to nothing about him. No one even knows what he looked like." A look of foreboding crossed his face. "And, even more disturbingly, no one knows whether he's dead or not."

"The Punishers… I mean, Mikael… didn't kill him?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, _supposedly_, they did," Damon said casually. "Allegedly, they killed him when they wiped out Benito's coven, but they never found his body."

"And," Stefan replied, "he was the only one who ever used that symbol. It was his calling card."

"So, if it's Blackwood who left that symbol, what does that mean?" Elena asked. "Is he… here?"

Damon nodded. "Possibly."

"Well, what do we do if he is?" Alaric asked.

"Nothing, until we know why he's here." Damon looked at everyone in the room. "And what he wants."

.

Klaus Mikaelson walked quietly through his mansion, brooding. He considered his recent gains and losses. On the one hand, after a thousand years, his father was finally dead; he was free of Mikael's vendetta against him, free of the endless running. On the other, he had lost the rest of his family, who he'd kept safely locked in coffins.

The hybrid growled, clenching his jaw as he glared out of his window. _If you harm them, Stefan, I will make you pay. That I promise you._

Suddenly, a soft sound from behind him caused Klaus to turn, scanning the room. But no one was there; he was alone.

Klaus walked through into the next room, hearing another sound; a quiet _clunk_ of wood on stone. He glanced around, and, again, saw nothing.

"Is someone there?" he called. There was no reply, of course; only silence.

Another sound, this one louder, reached his ears. He turned again, and found himself looking directly at the mirror on the other side of the room. Klaus walked over, looking at his face in the mirror. Something was wrong; somehow his face looked different, something about it altered. He stopped directly in front of the mirror and ran a hand over his face, feeling along his jawline and rubbing his chin thoughtfully. It all _felt_ the same, but something just didn't look right.

Then he blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, it wasn't his face in the mirror. The face in the mirror was narrower, sleeker, with cold, light blue eyes and pale skin. The figure had shoulder-length black hair, and his mouth was curved in a cruel smirk.

It was a face that Klaus recognized instantly. But it was also a face that was supposed to be dead.

Klaus staggered backwards, his eyes wide. He blinked again, and the other figure was gone. The face in the mirror was his again.

Then he heard it; a voice, whispering through the room. "_Niklaus…_"

Klaus's head snapped around, but there was no one there.

The voice spoke again, this time amused. "_Niklaus…_"

Klaus looked around wildly, his heart pounding. _He can't be here! He's dead!_

The voice, clearly disagreeing with him, spoke again. This time, its tone was openly mocking. "_Niklaus…_"

"No," Klaus whispered. "No, no, no!" He glanced around frantically, his eyes searching every corner, every crevice of the room. There was no one there.

The whispering was gone. Klaus slowed down, looking around quietly, trying to calm down. He breathed in heavily, closing his eyes. _Relax. It's okay. There's no way he could be here. He's dead. He has to be._

Then a voice whispered directly into his ear. "Did you miss me, Niklaus?"

Klaus reacted instantly; he whirled around with a yell, his right fist already swinging. But the punch hit nothing; there was no one behind him.

Then the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house. Klaus ran, sprinting at superhuman speed to the front door. He burst through the doorway, gasping for air as he glared around. But, of course, no one was there.

The faint, unmistakable sound of mocking laughter echoed through the night air. Klaus snarled, his eyes glowing yellow as his fangs extended. "_Where are you?!_" he yelled, his voice carrying. "_If you want a fight, come and get me!_"

There was no reply. Klaus slowly relaxed, letting the tension leave his body. For several minutes, he remained standing in the doorway, glaring out into the night. Finally, he turned, reentering the house, and closed the door behind him.

_That's not possible. He's dead. He died centuries ago!_

And yet, the voice – and the face in the mirror – had been exactly the same. Klaus would have recognized him anywhere.

_How is this happening?_

For the first time in a very long time, Niklaus Mikaelson had absolutely no idea how to deal with a situation.

And he didn't like that feeling.

**AN: And here we are at the end of another chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed the history of Jonathan Blackwood. As some people may know, the scene where Stefan and Damon describe the Vampire War in Mexico is based on a similar storyline in the Twilight book series, but I've adapted the war's story to fit with this story's plot. I needed a big example of how much damage Blackwood can cause, to justify his reputation, and this seemed like an excellent way to do it.**

**Thanks to everyone who has read this story! Don't worry if things seem a little slow, they'll speed up soon enough, and we'll connect to **_**Teen Wolf**_** in the next couple of chapters.**

**I always enjoy reviews, so if anyone has a comment or question about this chapter or the story as a whole, please review! (No hate, please).**

**See you all next time!**


	4. Blackwood's Agenda

**Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_ or _Teen Wolf_.**

**Chapter 3 – Blackwood's Agenda**

.

After Damon finished speaking, silence descended upon the room. Everyone stared down at the floor for a long moment, thinking about the story that the two Salvatore brothers had shared. Each of them felt a faint chill running through their minds, as they thought about the horrors surrounding this mysterious, shadowy figure, the legendary killer.

Suddenly, Stefan's phone rang. He blinked, snapped out of his reverie, and answered it. "Hello?"

"_What the hell is going on?!_" an accented, instantly recognizable voice snapped.

Stefan's eyes widened in surprise. "Klaus?"

All eyes turned to Stefan in astonishment.

"Klaus?!" Caroline hissed.

Klaus replied, his voice somewhat calmer. "_My apologies, I should have started out simpler. Good evening, Stefan. Now, would you mind telling me if you have any idea why Jonathan _bloody _Blackwood was _in my house _about twenty minutes ago?!_"

The room was completely silenced in an instant.

Stefan's eyes widened and his mouth worked for a moment in complete and utter shock, trying to form words. "Blackwood?"

"_Yes, Blackwood!_" Klaus snarled. "_Don't even bother playing dumb; you know exactly who he is! _Everyone_ knows who he is! He's supposed to be dead, my father killed him over a hundred years ago, and half an hour ago, he was _standing in my living room!_ Now, I'm assuming you know about his symbol being found off Highway 41, so would you mind telling me what the _hell_ is going on around here?!_"

"Put him on speaker," Damon said. Stefan pressed a button, and Klaus's voice filled the room. "_Well, Stefan? Any ideas? You usually have quite a lot of those._"

Damon smiled. "Not really. We don't have any idea why Blackwood's here, much less what he wants."

"_Damon too?_" Klaus's voice sounded vaguely amused. "_Well, this saves me the trouble of another phone call. Excellent. Now, let's get down to business, shall we?_"

"Sounds good to me," Stefan said. "First of all, what is he after?"

Klaus sighed. "_With Jonathan, you never know. It can be a certain goal one minute and a completely different one the next. Unless he's had a personality change in the past few centuries, I doubt we'll be able to make much sense of his actions._"

"Okay, so what do we _do_ about him?" Damon asked.

"_There really isn't anything to do,_" Klaus said. "_It's tricky enough finding Jonathan, let alone figuring out what to do with him. But trust me, if he's here, it shouldn't be hard to find out what he's up to. If he wants us to know why he's here, he'll tell us._"

Suddenly, Alaric's cell phone rang, the sound loud in the room. He immediately terminated the call, but the damage was done.

"_What was that?_" Klaus inquired, his voice curious.

"Just Rick's phone going off," Damon said casually. "You don't mind if he listens, do you?"

"_Not at all,_" Klaus said coolly. "_By all means, listen in, Alaric. This involves all of us, after all._"

"Okay, so what would Blackwood want?" Alaric asked. "Does he have some kind of overriding objective?"

"_It varies, depending on what mood he's in,_" Klaus replied. "_But he was always obsessed with power, strength. He wanted to be the best, and he was ruthless whenever someone got in his way._"

"What do you mean by 'the best'?" Stefan asked.

"_He wanted to… _improve_ the vampire species,_" Klaus said. "_His greatest ambition was to find a way to eliminate the weaknesses – sunlight, vervain, stakes through the heart – that made us vulnerable, still limited our powers. He wanted to find a way for us to become truly immortal, all-powerful; in essence, he wanted to become a god._"

Damon's eyes widened noticeably. "Well, that doesn't sound good."

Klaus sighed. "_No, it doesn't. I quite like being the only invincible being on this earth, so I had no interest in helping Jonathan… but my father saw his plans as a potentially dangerous threat, and began hunting him down. Desperate to escape, Jonathan did the only thing he could think of; he created a distraction big enough that it risked exposing all of us, forcing Mikael to focus on that instead._"

Stefan locked eyes with Damon, an astonished expression on his face. "The vampire wars in Mexico."

"_Precisely,_" Klaus replied. "_Mikael slaughtered the entire vampire population of Mexico in an attempt to bring Blackwood down. He ended that irritating war with a single blow; wiped out all of the warring covens and their newborns, and butchered Benito himself. But, apparently, he missed his primary target._"

"Blackwood escaped," Stefan said softly.

"_It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?_" Klaus said sardonically. "_I'm growing tired of this. Call me if you find anything._"

"And why should we let you know anything we find?" Damon asked coolly.

"_Because Jonathan is extremely dangerous. He's hundreds of years older than the pair of you, which means he's much stronger and far more skilled. For him, fighting you two would be like fighting children. Now that Mikael is dead and Rebekah is gone, I'm the only one in this town who's capable of killing him. So, if you want to get rid of him, you'll need my help. We may not have much time, so I suggest you choose quickly._" There was a click, and Klaus was gone.

Damon sighed, sinking onto the couch. "Well, that throws a wrench into things," he muttered.

Stefan nodded. "As much as I hate to say it, Klaus is right; we'd be no match for Blackwood on our own, if this is really him. Klaus is the only one in this town who could take him on."

"What about me?" Tyler countered. "I'm a hybrid too, and this guy Blackwood isn't an Original. One bite from me and he's dead."

"Yes, but you don't have the skill to keep up with him," Damon countered. "Not even close. You've been a hybrid for a couple of months; he's been a vampire for _centuries_. It wouldn't even be a challenge for him." He shook his head. "No, Stefan's right; as much as I hate Klaus's guts, he's the only person we know who could take on Blackwood and win."

"Are you two forgetting that Klaus wants you both dead?" Elena asked incredulously. "Stefan's still holding his family _hostage!_ There's no way he'd cooperate with us without turning on us!"

"Of course he's going to turn on us," Damon replied casually. "He's Klaus, it's what he does. But I get the feeling that we would have a truce until Blackwood's been dealt with. He's the priority for both of us, judging by how freaked out Klaus was after just seeing him."

Tyler scowled. "Fine. But I don't like it."

"No one does," Stefan replied reasonably. "But if we're forced to fight Blackwood, we'll need Klaus. Once Blackwood's been dealt with, it'll be back to business as usual."

Tyler nodded reluctantly and sat down on the couch.

"So what do we do?" Caroline asked. "Should I tell my mom what's going on?"

Alaric considered. "Not yet. Remember, this guy Blackwood hasn't done anything to hurt anyone here yet. Having the police start hunting him won't accomplish anything at this point. Plus, this guy's supposed to be extremely dangerous; if the sheriff's department went after him, they'd just be getting themselves killed."

Jeremy nodded in agreement. "He's right. We can deal with this ourselves; there's no reason to involve the police yet."

Damon looked around the room. "All right, then. Let's get started."

.

"So what's the plan?" Elena asked as she walked up to the front door of the Salvatore house, accompanied by Stefan, Damon and Caroline.

"We start by finding him," Damon replied, "which is going to be our first problem. I mean, the guy outran Mikael for hundreds of years; he's not easy to catch."

Stefan nodded, opening the front door and leading the way inside. "We need to move fast, though. Klaus said Blackwood was erratic, very changeable; that means that he probably won't wait for very long."

"Why is he here?" Caroline asked curiously. "I mean, it sounds like Blackwood's been running from the Originals for centuries; why would he come to a place where _all_ of them are located?"

"No idea," Damon said cheerfully, walking ahead of them. "But really, that's not a newsflash; the only one of them who's currently alive and mobile is–" He came to an abrupt halt as he walked into the living room, eyes wide in surprise.

Klaus sat in a chair by the fireplace, a faint smile on his face. "You were saying?"

"Klaus," Damon finished sourly. "What are you doing here?"

Klaus chuckled. "I'm here to offer my help. Face the facts, mate; you need me. Against Jonathan, you three," he continued, indicating Damon, Stefan and Caroline with a sweep of one hand, "wouldn't stand a chance. I'm the only one who can beat him in a fight."

"Sorry," Damon said. "I don't trust you. I mean, no offense, but you have tried to kill us all… multiple times."

"Not to mention that you _did_ kill me," Elena snapped.

Klaus shrugged easily. "That was necessary; and, to be fair, you didn't _actually_ die." He smirked at Damon. "And as for why you need my help… I know more about Jonathan than anyone else. We were friends once, so I have all kinds of information you could use."

"Oh, really? Like what?" Damon inquired skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

Klaus grinned. "How about the fact that I know why he's here?"

Everyone instantly focused on Klaus, who smirked calmly. "I was Jonathan's closest friend once. He told me about the overriding goal of his life, his purpose… what he believed was his destiny. And, obviously, that's the reason he's here."

"Why?" Caroline asked. "What does he want?"

Klaus smiled, leaning back nonchalantly in the chair. "Have any of you ever heard of an ancient artifact called the Amulet of Kronos?"

All four shook their heads.

Klaus's smile widened. "The Amulet of Kronos was a legendary artifact, created thousands of years ago in ancient Greece. According to myth, it was forged by the gods themselves, and imbued with enough power that the person who wore it would be granted the power of Kronos himself; power akin to that of a god among men. It's said that those humans who wore it were the greatest kings of their era; they were invincible in battle, and their power was beyond any other. Ironically, that power tore their kingdoms apart, as wars were fought over possession of the Amulet and the kings fell into ruin. Eventually, a powerful group of witches stole the amulet and concealed it, so no one could ever use its power for evil purposes again."

Klaus glanced around the room, looking at Stefan, Damon, Elena and Caroline in turn. "That's what Jonathan is after. He wants the Amulet for himself, believing that it will allow him to overcome our kind's inherent weaknesses – sunlight, vervain, physical injury – and become perfection incarnate, an ultimate, immortal, all-powerful being." He chuckled quietly. "Put simply, he wanted to become a god."

"If a human who wore that Amulet was given that much power…" Stefan said, his words trailing off.

Klaus nodded. "Then what would happen if a vampire as powerful as Jonathan wore it? Precisely. Which is why I abandoned his insane scheme. Jonathan was my friend once, but his plan could have destroyed us all. Especially," he added darkly, "since only the one who wears the Amulet can possess its power. Jonathan had no intention of sharing his power with me; he only wanted a powerful ally who could help him find it."

"So, that's why he's in Mystic Falls?" Caroline asked nervously. "He's looking for that amulet?"

Klaus considered for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that's not why he's here. Jonathan doesn't know where the Amulet was hidden. It was sealed away using a powerful spell, somewhere he could never find it. The only way he can break the spell and find the Amulet is with a very special… ingredient. One essential to the spell."

"What kind of ingredient?" Damon asked.

Klaus didn't reply, but merely glanced up at Damon, a faint smirk flickering across his face. "Do you want my help or not?"

"Fine," Elena said. All four of the others turned to face her. Stefan, Damon and Caroline had incredulous expressions on their faces, while Klaus looked mildly amused. Elena took a step forward, nodding to Klaus. "Yes, we want your help. Now please tell us what you know. What is Blackwood looking for?"

Klaus looked up at her and smiled. "He's looking for a witch. A Bennett witch."

Once again, all eyes turned to Klaus. He reclined casually in his chair. "A Bennett witch cast the spell that sealed the Amulet away, so only a Bennett witch can break it. Classic case of the supernatural having only one weakness."

Klaus stood up and walked over to the fireplace, gazing into the flames. "There were only two surviving Bennett witches when the Amulet was sealed away. Jonathan massacred the rest of their family in search of it, but the two survivors – young women, sisters – fled to opposite sides of this country. One of them – Emily Bennett, whom you are no doubt familiar with – met Katerina Petrova and joined her for protection and to hide somewhere Jonathan wouldn't find her. She was eventually betrayed by Katerina, of course, and was burned at the stake. Quite a messy affair."

"Yes, we know that story," Stefan said coolly. "We knew Emily very well."

"I'm aware of that," Klaus replied. "What you _don't_ know is that Emily had an older sister, Elizabeth, who fled to California with the Amulet. Unfortunately, Jonathan soon tracked her down. He was quite angry; he massacred the entire population of a mining town to get to her, and then tortured her until she revealed that she had used a spell to seal away the Amulet forever, in a place where he would never find it. Jonathan, understandably, didn't take this very well. He killed Elizabeth, and has apparently spent the next hundred and fifty years searching for the rest of the Bennett line. Now, had Emily been able to evade him and die of old age as Elizabeth had planned, he would have been truly foiled – with no surviving Bennett witches, no one would be able to find the Amulet or break the spell shielding it." He glanced back at them, his face set grimly. "Unfortunately, Emily started a family and had children before she died, and so her descendants lived on, continuing the Bennett line and Jonathan's only way of finding the Amulet and fulfilling his plans of becoming a god. Continuing it all the way down to…" A faint, deadly smile curled his lips.

Elena's eyes widened in horror. She looked around to Caroline, who had an equally horror-struck expression on her face, and then to Stefan and Damon, both of which looked shocked.

"Oh, my god…" Elena whispered.

Stefan spoke up. "Bonnie."

.

Bonnie glanced around as she drove down the street.

Beside her, Jeremy sat in the passenger's seat, relaxed, leaning back with his eyes half-closed.

"Thanks for driving me home," he said softly.

"No problem," Bonnie replied with a faint smile.

They continued in silence for a few minutes, until Jeremy's phone suddenly buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen.

"Huh. Text from Elena." He tapped the screen, read the message, and froze.

"Jeremy?" Bonnie asked. "What's wrong?"

Jeremy read the text, his voice unsteady. "'Klaus says Blackwood's after Bonnie. Get her to our house NOW. No vampires can get in. Wait for us there.'"

Bonnie felt a chill of fear run through her. She turned to look at Jeremy, her eyes wide. "He wants _me?_"

"Apparently, yeah. Drive, we have to get to my house. He can't get in there." Jeremy held her gaze for a long moment. "Bonnie, I swear, I will not let him hurt you. I promise."

Bonnie looked back at him, her eyes softening at the determination in his gaze. It was obvious that he believed every word he was saying. He would do anything to protect her.

_No. No. You can't feel that way. It didn't work. He couldn't get over Anna. It's not worth it._

But, at the same time, it _did_ feel like it would be worth it. If she could just get over the past…

Her voice soft, she whispered, "Jeremy… I…"

Jeremy was about to reply when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look through the front windshield, and then yelled, "_Bonnie, look out!_" at the top of his lungs. Bonnie turned just in time to see a dark figure standing in the road, right in front of them, and then her entire world turned upside down as the car slammed into the figure and flipped over, rolling twice before crashing to a halt. The car was standing upright on all four tires, but all of the windows were broken, and both Bonnie and Jeremy had multiple cuts and bruises.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" Jeremy groaned, clutching at his head where it had slammed against the window.

"Oh, my god, we hit someone!" Bonnie cried, looking into the rearview mirror. Sure enough, the body of a man who'd obviously been hurled into the air when the car had slammed into him was lying crumpled on the road, about ten yards behind them.

Then the man's arm moved.

Bonnie's eyes widened, and she leaned closer to the mirror. As she watched, the man's entire body began to twitch and spasm, popping his limbs back into place.

"Jeremy, we have to run," Bonnie snapped, undoing her seatbelt and yanking at the door handle. It didn't work; the impact had obviously broken something in the mechanism. "Come on, Jeremy, we have to run!"

The man was already back on his feet, and started walking slowly towards the car.

Jeremy stared into the mirror, his eyes wide in shock. "Oh, god…"

"Jeremy, _go!_" Bonnie yelled, wrenching desperately at her door handle. "Get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" he yelled back.

An instant later, the glass on Bonnie's window shattered inwards, and a hand reached through, grabbed the metal, and pulled. Instantly, the door was ripped off its hinges and tossed aside, landing with a crash. The hand reached back in, grabbed Bonnie by the shoulder and yanked her out of the car, dropping her to the ground. Bonnie looked up, gasping for air, her eyes wide in terror.

Standing over her was a young man, physically in his twenties. His face was handsome and sharply defined; his eyes were a cold, light blue, and his hair was black and hung to his shoulders. He smiled down at her, reached down, and lifted her effortlessly to her feet.

"Hello, Bonnie Bennett," he said casually, as if they were old friends. His voice was accented; the tone was cultured, perhaps British. "I've been looking for you for a very long time."

Bonnie could only stare at him in shock, her mind numbed by fear. So this was him; the famous monster, a vampire's worst nightmare, the madman who had torn Mexico apart in a war between vampires that had killed countless innocent humans, all so he could escape from Mikael.

Her lips trembled as she whispered the name.

"Blackwood."

He smiled. "Very good. I thought you might know me."

"Leave her alone!" Jeremy, who had crawled across to the driver's side, ran at Blackwood, raising a wooden stake that he'd drawn from his wrist-mounted sheath.

"Ah, the little human wants to play hero. Delightful." As Jeremy lunged, Blackwood grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the stake before the blow could connect. With the other, he grasped Jeremy's throat, lifting him off the ground.

Jeremy grunted in pain, struggling, but Blackwood's grip was like a vice. Blackwood smiled and tightened his hold on Jeremy's wrist with his right hand. Jeremy lost his grip on the stake, which fell harmlessly to the ground.

"You have heart," Blackwood acknowledged, looking into Jeremy's eyes for a moment and then glancing away, looking him over. "But you can't be compelled for some reason; there's vervain in your system, isn't there?"

Jeremy's silence was answer enough.

Blackwood sighed, disappointed. "Oh, well. You might have been useful to me, if I could have compelled you, but there's really nothing else for it. My apologies." He casually twisted his hand, just once, and snapped Jeremy's neck.

"Jeremy!" Bonnie screamed, running forward, but Blackwood released Jeremy's arm and dismissively batted her aside with one hand, knocking her to the ground. She watched in horror as Blackwood dropped Jeremy's lifeless body to the ground, then turned to her. Once again, he bent down and lifted her to her feet.

"Now, as for you…" He smiled, looking into her eyes. Then the smile faded slightly. "Well, well. Everyone in this town keeps up on their vervain intake, don't they?"

"You can't compel me," she spat. "And I'd never help you."

"Even if I threatened to kill everyone you care about?" Blackwood asked simply, with another friendly smile. "I could kill, say… this boy's sister, Elena Gilbert? Or your other best friend, Caroline Forbes? Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood, Stefan and Damon Salvatore… there's really no end of people I can use as leverage against you." He smirked cruelly, the look in his eyes turning dangerous. "Now, either you help me, or everyone you care about in this world dies."

Bonnie stared back at him, horror keeping her frozen to the spot. Finally, she nodded slowly. She couldn't sacrifice the lives of all of her friends. Not even for this.

"What do you want me to do?" she whispered, looking back down at Jeremy's body – and noting, with a flash of joy and relief that she managed to conceal, the familiar presence of the Gilbert ring on his finger.

_He's alive. Or he will be soon, anyway._

"Well, as it just so happens, there are a couple of rather important spells I need to break," Blackwood replied. "And I need a Bennett witch to do it. You're the last of them, so I tracked you down. Now, let's get moving. I'll take you by your home to pick up your grimoire, and then we'll be off. And don't worry; do everything you're told, and not only will I spare all of your friends, but I'll return you home safe and sound." His smile widened. "You have my word."

Bonnie looked back at him. He certainly didn't seem overly threatening. But she remembered the horrific stories Stefan and Damon had told about him, his threat to everyone she cared about, and how he'd just killed Jeremy as casually as if he were swatting a fly.

And, looking into his cold blue eyes, she was more afraid than she'd ever been in her life.

"Okay," she said softly. "Where are we going?"

"California," Blackwood said calmly. "I'm not sure exactly where yet; that's part of your job. Now let's get going."

"How?" she snapped. "You wrecked my car."

Blackwood pointed to a spot a short distance down the road, to where a sleek, midnight-black Lexus that she hadn't noticed before was parked.

He looked back to Bonnie and smirked. "My car's faster."

Blackwood turned and started leading her back towards his car, calling back, "Come along, Bonnie, there's no time to lose. We have a destiny to fulfill."

**AN: Well, now things are moving along pretty quickly. We finally find out why Blackwood was in Mystic Falls, Klaus and the Salvatore brothers have temporarily teamed up to deal with him, and on top of that, Blackwood has kidnapped Bonnie and killed Jeremy! Hopefully, this'll leave all of you clamoring for the next chapter! Well, don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. ;)**

**Also, for those of you who want to know Blackwood's appearance, I can reveal that now; he looks like Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki in the two **_**Thor**_** movies and**_** The Avengers**_**. In case anyone wants to see what he looks like here, I've uploaded a picture of him as the cover image for this story. Enjoy!**

**As always, I really appreciate reviews, so if anyone has a comment or question about this chapter or the story as a whole, please review! (No hate, please).**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you all next time!**


	5. Abduction

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Vampire Diaries**_** or **_**Teen Wolf**_**.**

**Chapter 4 – Abduction**

.

Bonnie sat in the passenger's seat of Blackwood's car as they sped through the night, trying to keep herself from shivering. Despite the fact that she knew Jeremy was most likely alive by now thanks to the Gilbert ring, she kept seeing that moment in her mind. Blackwood making a single twisting motion of his hand and snapping Jeremy's neck, as dispassionately as if he'd been crushing an insect. That sight, combined with the fact that it was cold in the car, meant that she was trying desperately to keep herself from shaking like a leaf.

"You know, you could always ask me to turn on the heater," Blackwood said with a faint smile. Bonnie didn't bother turning her head to look at him.

He sighed. "Fine." Then, to her surprise, the car's heater activated, pouring warm air onto them. Bonnie's entire body shivered as she felt the bone-chilling cold draining away, and she leaned back into the leather seat.

"Relax," Blackwood said. "As soon as you complete your tasks for me, I'll make sure you get home safe and sound. You have nothing to worry about, as long as you do what you're told."

"Excuse me for not believing you," Bonnie spat, turning to face him. "Considering that you just _murdered_ one of my closest friends!"

"The boy?" Blackwood rolled his eyes. "Oh, come now, Bonnie. You and I both know he's not actually dead, so don't be so dramatic about it."

Bonnie's eyes widened. "W-what?"

Blackwood raised an eyebrow. "Bonnie, do you honestly think I don't recognize a resurrection talisman when I see one? I knew I couldn't kill him permanently without taking that ring off his finger, and I didn't have any reason to do that, so I went for the option of putting him down temporarily so he wouldn't get in the way."

Bonnie was astonished. _He knew Jeremy would come back?_

"Why… why wouldn't you make sure he wouldn't come back to life?" she asked hesitantly.

Blackwood smiled. "Because I have nothing against him." His grin widened. "You know, Bonnie, I might not be as much of a monster as the stories say."

"Yeah. Right." Bonnie snorted. "I've met your type before. People like you never turn out to be the good guys."

Blackwood laughed softly. "There are no people like me."

"There are _always_ people like you," Bonnie snapped.

Blackwood's smile faded slightly. "You know, you don't have to be so negative all the time. You're really taking the fun out of this trip. I mean, really, how many times do you get to leave Mystic Falls for any significant period of time? Not too often, I'm guessing."

Bonnie had to admit that in that one regard, at least, he was right; she almost never left Mystic Falls.

"Just as I thought," Blackwood replied with a faint smirk, sensing her answer. "Always loyally serving your friends, never taking the time to have your own life. Always last, always unappreciated." He smiled, almost gently. "I know how that feels, Bonnie. I experienced it myself, a long time ago. And ever since, I've vowed never to be that person again. Never to be the weakest one."

"I'm not last," Bonnie defended. "My friends are there for me when I need them."

"Really?" Blackwood challenged. "That's not the way I see it. They use you for your powers. Any witch could do the job, and I doubt they'd care."

"You're wrong."

"Am I?"

Bonnie glanced away, not wanting to continue the argument any longer. She'd only known Blackwood for about an hour, but she could already tell that he was extremely good at getting under people's skin. She could understand now why he'd been able to start a war between vampires just by making a suggestion.

"You're a victim, Bonnie," Blackwood said sympathetically. "I understand that, because I was one too. But once I find the Amulet, I'll never be a victim again. And, if you so choose…" he looked over at her and smiled. "Neither will you."

"Amulet?" Bonnie asked, puzzled. "What Amulet?"

Blackwood glanced over at her, then grinned. "Ah, yes, that's right. Your friends wouldn't know about that. The Amulet of Kronos; a powerful artifact, created thousands of years ago in ancient Greece. Legend said that those who wore it would gain incredible power. Human kings who wore the Amulet were superhumanly strong, fast, agile and resilient, with the power to bring anyone to their knees with a thought or a gesture. They crafted empires that endured for centuries, but each of those kingdoms was inevitably torn apart by war and chaos. Eventually, a family of witches stole the Amulet, to end the destruction it was causing. They concealed it with a powerful spell, and kept it hidden among their family for generations."

Bonnie turned slowly to look at him, realization dawning. "My family?"

Blackwood smiled back at her. "Yes, Bonnie. Your family. The family that would eventually become the Bennetts."

Turning away, Blackwood gazed out the windshield in front of them, his voice becoming quieter, more thoughtful. "The Bennett family kept the Amulet safely away from anyone who might misuse it for centuries. Until, that is, I discovered the identity of the witches who had hidden it all those years ago."

"So you hunted them down," Bonnie said softly.

"I did," Blackwood acknowledged with a nod. "I found the family in Europe, but, as you might imagine, they refused to give up the Amulet. In fact, every last one of them fought and died to protect it. The entire family was slaughtered, with the exception of two young girls, sisters, who escaped with the Amulet. I tracked them across three continents, but I finally found one of them. Her name was Elizabeth. I was forced to… _interrogate_ her, but she died without telling me where it was. All she told me was that she'd used a powerful spell to hide the Amulet, somewhere where I would never find it."

Bonnie stared at him, her eyes widening. "So… _that's_ why you came looking for me?"

"Precisely," Blackwood replied with a faint smile. "I searched for Elizabeth's sister, Emily – I'm assuming you're familiar with her – but by the time I found her, she'd already been burned at the stake. Fortunately, she had already had a child by the time she died, so the Bennett line lived on, along with my only key to finding the Amulet."

"If the spell was created by a Bennett witch…" Bonnie murmured.

"Then only a Bennett witch can break it," Blackwood finished. "Yes, that is the case. But first, we'll need to find where the Amulet is hidden. And only you will be able to sense its power."

Bonnie was stunned. "You want me to find the Amulet and unseal it? But… what are you going to do with it when you get it?"

"I'm going to put it on," Blackwood answered simply. "And then we'll see whether the rumors of its power are true. If a human could become superhuman by wearing it… imagine what _I_ would be capable of." A wild gleam seemed to come to his eyes as he turned to face Bonnie, smirking. "That is what I want, Bonnie Bennett. What I've always wanted. And you're going to help me get it."

Bonnie sat back, shivering. _If he gets that kind of power... Klaus would be nothing compared to this!_ She tried to calm her mind, but she couldn't stop her swirling thoughts.

"So, then." Blackwood's voice snapped her out of it, as she turned to face him. The crazed look in his eyes had faded, leaving only his normal smile. He grinned at her.

"What would you like to listen to? It's going to be a long ride."

.

Jeremy's eyes snapped open. With a loud gasp, he sat bolt upright in the middle of the road, looking frantically around as he took several deep breaths of air. _Calm down, Jeremy… relax. Deep breaths. You're okay. You're alive._

The last thing he remembered had been the dark-haired vampire – Blackwood, it had to be – holding him by the neck, trying to compel him. Bonnie had been lying on the ground, her eyes wide in terror. Then the vampire's hand had tightened around his throat… and then darkness.

Slowly, Jeremy got unsteadily to his feet. He glanced around, looking for Bonnie, or Blackwood. Nothing. He was alone.

Which meant…

That was when he became aware that his phone was buzzing. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked the screen. _Seven missed calls from Elena, three from Alaric. Crap._

Hitting the button, Jeremy lifted the phone to his ear. "Hey."

"_Where the _hell _have you been?!_" Elena's voice demanded. "_This is the eighth time I've called you!_"

"Sorry, I was… I couldn't answer the phone." Jeremy coughed, looking around again for some sign of Bonnie, but there was still nothing. "Elena, something happened. There was a guy in the road, we hit him…"

"_Oh, my god! Are you okay?_"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But, Elena… then he got back up." Jeremy paused for a moment. "It was him, Elena. Blackwood."

Elena was silent for a moment. "_Oh, my god,_" she whispered.

"That's not the worst part. He…" Jeremy choked up for a second, unable to finish the sentence, but forced himself past it. "He took her, Elena. He took Bonnie."

.

When Elena heard the words over the phone, she froze. Her entire mind was numbed for an instant. No. Bonnie couldn't be gone, that wasn't possible.

Stefan snatched the phone from her hand, seeing that she was too stunned to speak. His vampire hearing had enabled him to hear everything Jeremy had said, so he wasn't confused. "Jeremy, we're coming to get you. Stay where you are," he said.

"_Okay, I'm on Willow Street. Bonnie's car's wrecked, so I'm stuck until you can get out here. Hurry up._"

"We will," Stefan promised. "Don't go anywhere. We'll be there in five minutes." Disconnecting the call, he handed Elena her phone back, then returned his attention to driving, accelerating the car.

"What happened?" Caroline asked from the back seat.

"Blackwood intercepted them before they could get to Elena's house," Stefan said. "He took Bonnie. Which means he has everything he needs to find the Amulet."

Caroline sank back, her eyes wide in horror. "No…" she whispered.

As the car shot down Willow Street, the familiar shape of Bonnie's car came into view up ahead. The car was turned sideways in the road, all the windows shattered and the driver's door hanging open. Jeremy was standing beside the car, but he hurried forward, waving, when he saw them. Stefan slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a halt in front of Jeremy.

Jeremy ran forward, opened the back door of the car and jumped into the back seat beside Caroline, slamming the door shut. "Go!" he yelled. "We have to find her!"

"Jeremy, we'd never find her!" Stefan snapped. "They'll be miles away right now, and we don't have a witch to do a locator spell! Besides, if we did find her, there's nothing we could do right now! There's no way the four of us could take on Blackwood; we need Klaus, Damon and Alaric to have a chance."

"She needs us!" Jeremy yelled.

"He's not going to hurt her!" Stefan yelled back. "He needs her alive and unharmed to perform the spells he wants; that was the only reason he came after her to begin with. Trust me, Jeremy. Bonnie will be fine until we can find her. And we _will_ find her. I promise."

Jeremy clenched his fists for a moment, his face twisted in anger… but then he sighed, slumping back in the seat and glaring out the window.

Caroline reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Jeremy," she said soothingly, even though her own voice was quivering. "We'll find her."

Stefan dialed his cell phone and held it up to his ear as the call was received. "Damon, get to Elena's house, and call Alaric and Tyler. Blackwood has Bonnie."

.

Bonnie blinked, opening her eyes as the car came gently to a stop. She sat up, looking around, and then flinched as she saw Blackwood looking back at her with a faint smile on his face.

"You fell asleep," he said calmly.

Bonnie tried to relax, breathing hard. "Where are we?"

"A gas station about two hundred miles from Mystic Falls," Blackwood replied. "I needed to fill up the tank. You may as well get out and stretch your legs; we've got a lot of driving to do."

As Blackwood opened the driver's door and hopped out of the car, Bonnie slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out, hugging herself against the chill in the air. They were parked at a nondescript gas station, the lights overhead illuminating them. There were no other cars parked at the station; they were alone. Bonnie gazed up, seeing a full moon hanging in the sky overhead.

Blackwood had finished filling up the car with gas, at which point he replaced the nozzle and walked back to the rear of the car. "Sorry, we'll be on our way in a minute. I just need to check on my other passenger."

"Other passenger?" Bonnie asked in surprise.

Blackwood nodded, opening the trunk. Bonnie walked over, looked into it… and then jumped back in horror.

Lying motionless in the trunk of the car, clearly unconscious, was Elena.

"What the _hell?!_" Bonnie cried. "Why do you have Elena in here?"

Blackwood frowned, momentarily confused. "Elena?" Then he smiled in realization. "Ah, you mean your friend from back in Mystic Falls? No, this isn't her. This," he said as he gestured at the unconscious body of Elena, "is an old friend of mine. Katerina Petrova. You'd know her as…"

"Katherine," Bonnie murmured, her eyes wide in surprise. Now it made sense; the woman in the trunk was wearing all black, with a miniskirt/leather jacket combination that Elena would never have worn, and her hair was curly, while Elena's was straight.

"Precisely," Blackwood said with a grin.

Bonnie stepped back, looking back and forth between Blackwood and Katherine's unconscious body. "Wait… I'm still confused. Why do you have Katherine in your trunk?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I ran into her as I arrived in Mystic Falls," Blackwood explained. "She was leaving town, apparently, but she ran straight into me while I was preparing my little calling card – that fire out in the woods. I'm assuming you heard about that."

"Yeah," Bonnie said slowly. "Yeah, I heard about that."

"Naturally, I couldn't let Katerina go; she and I have met before, meaning that she recognized me instantly, and the last thing I need is her running around with the claim that Jonathan Blackwood has returned. So I snapped her neck and stashed her in the trunk of my car."

"But… why haven't you just killed her yet?" Bonnie asked. "I mean, it's not like she wouldn't deserve it."

"A fair point," Blackwood acknowledged. "The reason for that would be that I may be able to find a use for her, so I decided that the minor risk of keeping her alive is worth the potential benefits. It's not like she's going anywhere anytime soon."

Casually reaching up with one hand, Blackwood closed the trunk, sealing Katherine's unconscious body inside. He walked up to the driver's door and then glanced back to Bonnie. "Come on, we've got a long way to go."

Slowly, Bonnie walked over and slid into the passenger's seat, buckling herself in. Blackwood smirked, turning on the radio to a heavy metal station and nodding. "Onwards and upwards, my dear Bonnie. The Amulet awaits."

Blackwood stepped on the brakes, and the car accelerated smoothly out of the gas station.

.

_Mystic Falls_

_Gilbert Home_

Stefan glanced around the room, meeting each pair of eyes in turn. "Now that Blackwood has Bonnie, there's no way he's still in Mystic Falls. She was all he wanted here, so I can't imagine why he'd stay any longer than he had to."

Damon nodded. "Makes sense. The question is, where is he going?"

"The only one who could answer that is Klaus," Alaric said. "I don't like it any more than anyone else, but we need him. Without his help, there's no way we can beat Blackwood in a fight."

Jeremy was glaring into the fire, silent, his face hardened in fury. Elena and Caroline were sitting on the couch, holding each other in silence; they were both absolutely horrified by the loss of Bonnie. Tyler was seated in a chair, his eyes narrowed in a mix of contemplation and anger.

"Okay, so we need Klaus," Damon said. "Tyler, you're his pet hybrid, you call him."

Tyler looked up, a faint growl rumbling in his throat at the reference. Before he could say anything, though, a knock rang out at the front door.

Everyone turned to look at the door. Damon raised a hand. "May I?"

"Be my guest," Alaric said.

Damon nodded, then flashed across the room in a burst of vampire speed. He hesitated for a second, then opened the door.

Klaus was standing on the porch, a sour expression on his face. "Remind me again why I was not informed that Jonathan has kidnapped Bonnie?"

"Because we didn't want you involved yet," Damon retorted. "How'd you know about Bonnie?"

"Tyler," Klaus said simply.

Damon scowled. "Of course."

Tyler glared at Damon. "Hey! We need his help, you admitted as much, and he can't help us if you leave him out of the loop, can he?"

"He's right," Alaric admitted.

Damon sighed reluctantly. "Fine. But whatever you have to say, you can say it from outside."

"Very well," Klaus said calmly. "I have a plan to find, not only your friend Bonnie, but also the location of the Amulet."

Every head in the living room turned to the front door, locking on Klaus.

The Original hybrid grinned. "I know a coven of witches who specialize in locator spells. They can find anyone, anywhere in the world. They couldn't find Jonathan, because they don't know what he looks like, and he will almost certainly have taken measures to make himself undetectable to locator spells. Bonnie, however, will not be hidden by those measures, which means that they'll be able to find her."

"And the Amulet?" Stefan asked, walking forward. "A locator spell won't work on that; none of us know what it looks like."

"A fair point," Klaus acknowledged curtly. It was easy to sense the anger seething beneath his skin whenever he looked at Stefan, and it was obvious why; Stefan was the one who had stolen the coffins containing Klaus's family.

"However," Klaus continued, "this coven has also mastered a different type of locator spell; one which can locate the spot where a particular witch _died_."

"Elizabeth," Stefan murmured. "The girl, Bonnie's ancestor; the one who hid the Amulet and sealed it away. You're saying we could find the spot where she died?"

Klaus smirked. "Exactly. And, since Elizabeth sealed away the Amulet shortly before she died, the Amulet will be hidden somewhere close to the site of her death. At the very least, it would give us a good place to start looking."

"Wait, why do we care about the Amulet?" Elena asked. "Bonnie is what's important here."

Klaus let out an exasperated sigh. "Elena, Jonathan wants the Amulet above all else. That's why he kidnapped Bonnie, why he's doing all of this. If we find it first, we can catch him when he gets there, and it'll be easier to recover Bonnie."

Klaus looked around, an ominous expression on his face. "But make no mistake. We have to find Jonathan before he reaches the Amulet. Because if he finds it first… if Jonathan Blackwood wears the Amulet of Kronos… the consequences could be catastrophic."

.

**AN: And here we are at the end of another chapter. Sorry it's taken me a while to update, but I've been very busy lately. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can finish it.**

**One thing I should mention is that I've changed the timeline of this story a bit, to make the crossover work better. The timeline relative to **_**The Vampire Diaries**_** is unchanged; the story still takes place after Episode 3x08, "Homecoming". Relative to **_**Teen Wolf**_**, however, it has changed; the story now takes place starting at the **_**beginning**_** of Season 3A, instead of after Episode 3x08, "Visionary". That way I can go through all of Season 3A and make the story longer and, hopefully, better.**

**I tremendously appreciate reviews, so if anyone has a comment or question regarding this chapter or the series as a whole, please review! (No hate, please).**

**Also, one more thing; I've come up with theme music for several specific characters who will be featured in this story (because I know some people like that sort of thing). So, here are the ones I have so far:**

**Stefan's theme – "Alone Together" by Fall Out Boy**

**Damon's theme – "Undisclosed Desires" by Muse**

**Elena's theme – "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield**

**Caroline's theme – "She's So Gone" by Naomi Scott**

**Jeremy's theme – "Born For This" by Paramore**

**Tyler's theme - "Scream" by Zac Efron**

**Klaus's theme – "Down from the Sky" by Trivium**

**Bonnie's theme – "The Monster" by Eminem (feat. Rihanna)**

**Katherine's theme – "Troublemaker" by Olly Murs (feat. Flo Rida)**

**Blackwood's theme – "Demons" by Imagine Dragons**

**Hopefully those themes capture the essence of the characters, and will help enrich your experience while reading the story.**

**See you next time!**

**Review Q&A:**

**Q: Great story! Update soon :)**

**A: Here you go!**


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